


I'll always come back to you

by DaniTsubasa



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Breastfeeding, Caretaking, Crying, Danger, Desperation, F/M, Family, Forehead Kisses, Hospitals, Hugs, Hypothermia, Kissing, Literal Sleeping Together, Love, Snow, Surgery, Team as Family, True Love, True Love's Kiss, Unconsciousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 04:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16381658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniTsubasa/pseuds/DaniTsubasa
Summary: And one more mission turned out to be bigger than it appeared to be, causing Peter and the Guardians to deal with an wounded Gamora, their son only two-month-old, people rescued during the mission, and the agonizing time they would take to get to the nearest hospital.





	I'll always come back to you

**Author's Note:**

> Guardians of the Galaxy and their characters don't belong to me, I leave the credits to Marvel.
> 
> This same story was posted by me in Nyah Fanfiction.
> 
> The chapter fanart belongs to Agnieszka Lepak. Available in pinterest: @fenchan.

                Peter left to sit alone on a bench in the beautiful hospital garden. He wrapped a small and soft blanket around the sling attached to his body beneath his red jacket, with the two-month-old baby sleeping serenely against his chest. His hand stroked his child's head over the cloth. Then he looked at the stars, countless of them glistening on a beautiful night, and dried the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. He didn't want to risk creating Kevin alone. Gamora deserved to see her son grow up, she deserved to be reminded every day that she wasn't the last anymore, and remember every day that they survived, that there was life after Thanos.

                They had called Nebula to help when they discovered that the cause of the injury's severity was a possible damage to her cybernetics. The doctors took Nebula with them into the operating room, in spite of how terrified they were in her presence, and only grew more relaxed when Rocket convinced them to take him along, since he also understood cybernetics. So they told them to wait and they didn't give much more details. He had done everything to keep Gamora awake until they reached the medical center, but he had failed. She had lost consciousness a few minutes before they landed in the parking lot. _I love you, Peter. Thank you, honey_ , she'd told him before sleep.

                They had faced a difficult battle. Gamora had been forced to leave the ship when she realized they were in an ambush. Their new employer had ordered them a simple service to rescue some people lost in the snow that covered the city at this time of year. It wasn't difficult to find them flying over the region, and as there was no lake and the ground below was firm, it wasn't a problem to land the ship. But they had been attacked. People weren't just lost, they were running away, so they had moved so far from the city. In the end they needed to use brute force to contain their ten attackers, which resulted in Gamora going very far from Benatar to get one of the rescued, who arrived alone.

_{Flash back}_

                “Where is she? - Peter asked holding the young human boy by the shoulders when he returned alone - Where is my wife?!”

                “She killed the guy... He shot her before he fell.”

                Peter literally felt a painful blow to his chest as his heart raced.

                “A wall of snow slid. She told me to run.”

                The Star Lord placed the last of the five rescues inside the ship and within seconds they were flying to where Gamora was possibly. When Peter and Rock left they could see nothing but white snow, and an anguish that was beginning to panic made the celestial half feel pain once more. He searched, green skin, black clothes, the glitter of God Slayer, her hair brown and pink, there was nothing. Rocket sniffed the place for some trace. Drax left Kevin to the care of Mantis, also leaving the ship to help. Peter froze as he heard Rock mutter the word blood.

                “There is someone here!” The raccoon called in the strong wind that was beginning to announce another snowstorm, he was digging.

                “Oh no, that arm belongs to the guy she was chasing!” The raccoon exclaimed in frustration, dropping the criminal's arm buried in the snow and scouring the area around him. “And he's dead,” he commented before the blood staining the white snow. Rock began to remove snow again from the large amount clustered in the natural stone wall.

                Peter and Drax joined him, pulling the snow like crazy, totally ignoring the risk of freezing their unprotected fingers, though Drax's skin was warm enough to protect him for a long time. Then Peter found one of her hands, while Rocket uncovered the colored hair and Drax unearthed her legs. In a few minutes Peter pulled her into his lap. Cold and pale, he couldn't tell if she was breathing. Drax helped him take off his overcoat and wrap Gamora around with him. There was also blood staining the snow there, and his clothes were lightly charred in a bloody opening on the right side of her body. Drax took the God Slayer off the ground and the three of them ran back to the Benatar.

                “Get us out of here now!” The Guardian’s leader asked urgently as he took his wife into the bedroom.

                Rock took off. Drax and Groot tried to deal with people, Mantis followed Peter. The green eyes stared at the son in his sister's arms and again Gamora. He tried to feel her pulse and notice some sign of life, but it was almost nothing. He pressed his lips to hers, blowing air into her lungs.

                “Let's... Breathe, babe,” another breath. “Breathe...” again. “Mora, breathe!” He begged, repeating the gesture.

                Peter felt tears begin to burn his eyes as he supplied air to the zehoberi for the fourth time. He couldn't lose her! No, no, no, no! His beloved warrior had to live! He breathed with her again. Gamora shuddered and her chest rose as she suddenly drew in her breath. Then she was seized by chills. Still, Peter let out a relieved sigh and wiped the tears from his face.

                “Let me help now,” Mantis put the baby asleep in the crib and sat beside Gamora, putting her hand on her forehead.

                Peter realized that she too was crying and she repeated his action before touching Gamora.

                “If she wakes up she'll feel pain because of the intense cold and the injury. She needs to get out of those icy clothes and be warmed up gradually. And I have to close it!”

                Mantis placed her hands above the wound on the green skin and quickly made it close a little more and stop bleeding, also reducing any pain that Gamora could feel.

                “Go contact the hospital if no one else has done. Let's get people on the spot and let's go right away. When do you think Kevin will wake up?”

                “Not less than an hour. We should take a little less than this to get to the city.”

                “Thank you, Mantis.”

                She smiled gently and left. Peter bent down beside his son's cradle, reaching out to stroke his head.

                “Let's not lose her, Kevin,” he said to the sleeping baby. “Daddy's going to bring her back one more time. Let's take care of her together like we always do.”

                Then he locked the door and stripped off his wife, leaving the clothes in the bathroom that began to soak with the melted snow to clean it later. He dressed her in dry underwear and looked at the wound, still worrying, but at least stagnant and anesthetized. Peter carefully wiped the blood from her green skin with a wet towel, then took off his shirt and trousers and placed the heated pieces on her, placing her on his lap and holding her firmly.

                “Okay... Slowly,” he whispered, kissing Gamora's forehead. “Come back to me, "he said softly. “Please, I need you.”

                Peter stayed with her like this for a few minutes, keeping his face close to hers and hugging her tightly, wanting to warm her as much as possible, always checking if she breathed well. Then he settled her on the bed, putting two blankets over her, and the warmer socks Gamora had. He unlocked the bedroom in case he needed help from the other Guardians with Gamora or Kevin, and dressed before joining Gamora under the covers, holding her against his chest and entwining their legs.

                “You have to come back,” he whispered in her ear. “Me and Kevin need you. All Guardians need you. Groot needs you, my Gamora.”

                Ten minutes. It was the time it took Peter to feel her move. Gamora shuddered and cringed on his chest with a low moan and weak movements.

                “Peter...” a very low whisper.

                “I'm here,” his voice sounded a little desperate as he lifted a hand to her face and made her look at him.

                “Where are your clothes? The ones you were using...”

                “On you.”

                Silence.

                “Don’t cry,” she murmured as she felt him shudder and try to hide the sound.

                “Mora, you almost died frozen on the mission. And you were shot. We're on our way to the hospital. Don’t sleep, please.”

                “Kevin.”

                “Sleeping, he's fine. All of us and everyone we rescued are fine.”

                Peter continued to hold her until the zehoberi stopped shaking, but Gamora was struggling to keep her consciousness. Kevin was still asleep.

                “You can’t sleep.”

                “Tired,” she murmured.

                “Please...” Peter kissed her softly on the lips. “Here I can kiss you for real. Sleeping you'll only dream about it.”

                A small smile crossed her green lips. Her body felt too heavy to sketch another reaction.

                “Look at me,” the Star Lord asked in a heartbreaking tone, Gamora had closed her eyes.

                “Peter... If...”

                “Not! You'll be fine. I'm warming you up. I can get another blanket. Your wound has been stalled, you'll heal soon.”

                “Too much sleep... Something hurts... No... Strong pressure,” she said, closing her eyes again.

                “You got shot. Mantis did the best she could. Doctors will help. Where does it hurt?”

                “Here inside...”

                Silence.

                “Mora?”

                “I love you, Peter.”

                “I love you too,” he said softly and smiling, trying to get some more energetic reaction from her.

                “Thank you, honey...” she whispered with a faint smile.

                “For what?” Peter smiled back.

                He knew why she was thanking him, but he wanted to keep her awake.

                “Gamora...? Mora...? Mora! He called loudly enough not to wake Kevin, leaning on one arm and stroking his wife's cheek, but she didn't answer anymore.”

                _{Flash back off}_

                The Guardians were already waiting for news three hours ago. Mantis, Drax, and Groot were in the waiting room. Peter had gone out into the garden alone, and none of the three protested, knowing how much his leader needed to put his thoughts in place.

                “I am Groot.”

                Peter got up and looked at the teen immediately upon hearing it, and followed Groot back into the hospital, seeing Nebula and Rocket next to an Asian-looking human female doctor who appeared to be the same age as Mantis.

                “Peter Quill.”

                “It's me,” he said anxiously and nervously.

                “All emergency procedures taken with Gamora Quill before she being admitted to the hospital were correct. The damage done at a specific point in her cybernetic alterations was what led her to unconsciousness and complaining of an uncomfortable pressure at the spot, even though she was anesthetized. Her sister and your friend guided us to make the due repairs and reinforce protection to this point without affecting anything negatively in her body. As for hypothermia, we performed the necessary procedures before surgery and she's fine. Her species recovers from childbirth in half the normal time for humans, if that incident happened a little over a month ago the situation could have been worse, or if she was human.”

                “Can we see her?” Mantis asked.

                “She's unconscious, but you can see her in the bedroom. She should wake up in a few hours.”

                The doctor looked into the sling and watched Kevin sleeping, then smiled.

                “Is this the baby? A boy, I believe. What's his name?”

                “Yes,” Peter replied with a slight smile. “It's Kevin.”

                “She can nurse little Kevin normally as long as she is careful not to force the wound. If all goes well we'll release her from the day after tomorrow and she can be taken care of at home.”

                The young lady led them through a corridor and left them in one of the first rooms, saying goodbye after a thousand thanks from all the Guardians, especially Peter. Nebula sat quietly on the sofa and staring out the window, the rest of them crowded around Gamora's bed.

                The zehoberi looked calm and no evidence of pain was visible on her face. Silent and quiet, this had always been Gamora's way, but not like this, not with the rest of the family staring at her in a hospital room longing for the moment she’d open her eyes.

                “Quill, you should stay with her. We can take care of Kevin for one night,” Drax said.

                “Buddy, you're not going to be okay worrying about her and the baby at the same time,” Rock spoke from where he was, over Groot's shoulder.

                “I am Groot.”

                “I can spend the night beside him,” Mantis said.

                “Groot and I are going to sleep in the cabin, in case you want to contact us.”

                “I'll help Mantis,” Drax told him.

                “Thank you, guys,” Peter thanked them with a smile, his hands never leaving the baby wrapped in his chest, and he knew Kevin would be fine and safe with any of the Guardians.

                Less than an hour later, everyone had left. Only Nebula remained, still staring out the window. Peter had released the sling and put it in Mantis for her to carry Kevin, who had continued to sleep all the time, even as his father approached him to kiss his forehead and wish him goodnight. The boy had woken up for about an hour when they were already in the hospital, suddenly and nervous, as if he felt there was something wrong with his mother's prolonged absence. He drank a whole bottle and went back to sleep before Peter left to sit alone with him in the garden.

                “They used a surgical patch instead of stitches,” she said suddenly. “It wasn't necessary to make a very deep incision to repair it. This should heal completely in less than two weeks.”

                “Thank you, Nebula,” Peter said as she left the bedroom, stopping to listen him, but not turning around. “Stay in the ship if you want. And good night.”

                 He took the lighter steps and the door being closed softly as a sign of sympathy and went to sit next to Gamora.

                “I can't see you like this... Come back soon,” he said softly, kissing the forehead of his wife. “I love you,” he said with his lips still brushing the green skin before kissing the same spot again.

                Peter took off his shoes and jacket and lay beside her under the sheets, placing a hand on her stomach and stroking the place, feeling the bandages beneath the hospital clothes. He had asked Mantis to bring clothes to Gamora in the morning, knowing how much she hated hospital clothes. The ones he had placed on her in the ship were neatly folded into a plastic bag on the bedside table.

                “Good night, darling.”

                He kissed the zehoberi's cheek and fell asleep exhausted.

******

                Gamora woke without opening her eyes. She was no longer so tired, but she felt so relaxed that she didn't feel like it. A soft breath hit her face, one hand pressed against her left shoulder, the other in her belly, the warm and strong body she knew very well moved lightly to breathe beside her. Suddenly Peter made a moan, seemed to be afraid.

                Gamora finally opened her eyes, realizing that she didn't recognize the room. By the light that was going through the curtains it still shouldn't have dawned. She was in a bed and she wasn't wearing her usual clothes. She had been injured on the mission, it was very cold, and she felt exhausted, the wound didn't hurt, but it bothered her a lot, and Peter was very afraid, begging her to stay awake. The Star Lord made another startled murmur and his fingers on her moved in a nervous movement.

                “Hey...” she called softly, testing how affected her voice was after hours without using it. “Peter?” She called as she looked at him and kissed his lips. “Love, I'm here.”

                He was crying, Gamora could see the tears stuck in his eyelashes. The green eyes widened in anguish, releasing the tears that rushed to the pillow, and he inhaled deeply, blinking a few times before actually facing her and leaning over her to hold her carefully.

                “Mora...” His voice had never sounded so relieved.

                “Peter...”

                She felt him kiss her cheek and wince.

                “I failed... I lost you. There was a lot of blood and you were very cold, and exhausted. You slept and I couldn't make you breathe again. Kevin was crying. Everyone was crying.”

                Gamora turned her face to kiss his ginger hair, and slid her fingers through the back of her husband's head, knowing that Peter was talking about a nightmare.

                “It's over,” she whispered in his ear. “I'm here now, alive, breathing, and warm, with you by my side.”

                Gamora hugged him and let him cry on her shoulder until he was calmer.

                “Only two months.”

                “I know,” Gamora hugged him as tightly as she could being hurt.

                She knew. She knew how much he had been afraid of never seeing her again, of Kevin growing up without his mother, of doing something wrong on the way to the hospital, of having been too late to find her. Gamora closed her eyes and continued to hold him against her as she felt her heart tighten, imagining all of Peter's fears. She could also feel his heart racing in his chest pressed against hers. At last she kissed his ginger hair again and pulled him away to look at him, wiping way his tears and kissing him on the lips.

                “Where is our baby?”

                Peter kissed her long. Gamora closed her eyes and let herself drift until Peter stepped back to look at her again.

                “With our family. He went sleeping by himself with Mantis last night, we left milk for him on the ship, Drax was already a father. I'm sure they did well the first night as uncles taking care of the baby. Rock and Groot said they'd stay in the booth to make it easier for us to get in touch. And you? How are you feeling?”

                “Better. No pain, no cold, no blood. But tired.”

                “Nebula and Rock were in your surgery. The doctors needed help to accurately repair damage to your cybernetics, that was what was bothering you.”

                “This didn't occur to me yesterday. It was yesterday?”

                Gamora groped for the place where she had been hit, feeling the bandages, and realized that she had no idea how much time she had been out of her mind, if a day or a week.

                “Yes. In the end of afternoon yesterday. It was already night when they let us see you. Nebula said they put a surgical patch in place of stitches, the surgery incision wasn't too deep.”

                “One female doctor told us that your species takes only one month to recover from childbirth, for humans there are two. If this had happened earlier it could be worrying. But you'll be fine soon.”

                “Any other restrictions on that?”

                “No. You can breastfeed Kevin normally, as long as you don't force the injury. They'll come to see you when dawn, our little one too. And I asked Mantis to bring your clothes before you went crazy using those.”

                “I prefer the ones you put on me yesterday.”

                Peter laughed softly, finally feeling calm after everything they had passed while Gamora slept.

                “The clothes have to be perfectly clean, medical orders to avoid problems with your injury. But I agree with you.”

                “Thank you, one more time,” she whispered as she kissed him.

                Peter kissed her back, and they both smiled. Gamora turned slowly to him and closed her eyes as she nestled into his chest. Peter hugged her and she fell asleep with the affection in her hair.

******

                “We were just starting to dance when I tried to kiss her. Then your mommy was very angry and put a knife in my neck from nowhere. I'm sure she thanks herself for not going forward every time she looks at you.”

                Kevin made a murmur, as if asking for confirmation from his father.

                “Yes. And if she knew at that moment that I was being honest when I tried to approach her, she'd never have done that. I'd never felt it before, Kevin. I liked her. I didn't know why, but I already liked her. I remember wondering if this is what people call love at first sight or soul mate. And you know when I felt it again?”

                Another murmur from the baby

                “Yeah... You're so smart, kid. That's when I saw you. In fact, it was much earlier. That's when your mommy and I felt you move for the first time. Or when I woke up in a hospital after I almost died frozen too and she told me that we had a new member for the Guardians.”

                Gamora smiled, her eyes still closed, filled with tears when she heard Peter speaking quietly and being answered by Kevin's sweet murmurs. It was the most beautiful way she could wake up, though she missed the warmth of Peter near her. She blinked a few times until she looked at them and wiped her eyes. Peter was sitting in the chair by the bed with the baby in his arms, telling him about the first time the Guardians had been together in Nowhere. The bedroom was already clear, although the curtain was closed.

                “Good morning.”

                “Good morning, mommy,” Peter said with a smile, and looked at her at the same time as Kevin, who made a sharp sound of joy and smiled. “Are you okay?” He asked worried about the glint in her eyes.

                “I'm fine,” she smiled, also receiving a smile from him.

                Peter sat next to her on the bed, putting Kevin between them. Gamora laughed when the baby also laughed and hugged her head with both little hands.

                “I missed you too,” she replied, kissing the palm of one of the small hands.

                “The others went out to eat. They were here twenty minutes ago. Mantis brought your clothes. And they put a crib here for Kevin.”

                Gamora stared at the side of the bed, seeing the transparent cradle with wheels, just like the one in her hospital bedroom when Kevin was born. She played with her son for a few minutes and they put him in his crib. Peter locked the room and helped her change her clothes. Then he pressed the button to lift the mattress and Gamora could sit down to feed their son. Peter helped her hold Kevin so the weight of the baby didn't stay on the bandages.

                “It's strange to be here again doing this. I didn’t imagine me breastfeeding him again in a hospital.”

                “If it's all right you're leaving tomorrow. And you’ll recover soon.”

                Peter was sitting beside her, hugging her behind and helping her hold Kevin as the baby suckled. The two stroked the boy's ginger hair together and Peter kissed his wife's brown hair.

                “I love you so.”

                “I love you so much too,” she smiled, leaning more against him. “I came back.”

                The Star Lord kissed her on the lips, knowing that she had heard at least part of his desperate cries for her to wake up as they arrived at the hospital, and while he held her hand the moment they anesthetized her for surgery.

                “We have to stop almost dying all the time, we have a baby now,” he said.

                Gamora laughed with him.

                “That counts since before Kevin. You're not allowed to leave me like this, Star Lord.”

                “And neither do you. None of us are.”

                “I'm hurt and I can't make sudden movements. Don't make me want to hug you with all my might when Kevin is done. I'll always come back to you. How you came back to me.”

                Peter laughed and kissed her hair again, pulling her closer and hearing her sigh with contentment. The other Guardians came back at that moment. Peter left her just to open the door and returned to where they were, while the rest of their family sat on the two sofas, all with a serene smile watching the couple and the baby. Nebula and Rock remained quiet, but the look of peace they had showed how much they were also relieved that everything was fine.


End file.
